"We won't let you Detroit us with taxes and debt."

"Sarah Collins sunscreens husband Ryan on a California beach."

"The unsigned painting had been gifted to the university."

Call it "verbing." Just as medieval alchemists sought to change base metals into gold, modern writers and speakers change nouns ("Detroit," "sunscreen," "gift") into verbs.

The preceding examples were sent to me by Oren Spiegler, a faithful reader in Upper St. Clair, Pa. I call Spiegler "The Verb Man of Alchemy," because, like a verbal "nest cam," he patiently observes and documents these little verbs as they hatch, chirp and fly off into the language.

For instance, he recently heard former presidential adviser Dick Morris say that Jesse Jackson had once threatened to "primary" Bill Clinton, meaning "to run in the primary elections against him."

And we're equally shocked to hear intransitive verbs — verbs that normally don't take a direct object — used as transitive verbs. Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, Conn., for instance, recalls this headline from years past: "(Arnold) Schwarzenegger's News Shudders Family, Career."

"Have you ever seen 'shudder' used with a direct object?" she writes. "Seems weird to me." Sure does.

The current king of "trans-sylvania" is the vampire verb "disappear." Dictators, for instance, are sometimes accused of "disappearing" their political enemies — secretly executing or imprisoning them.

What's next? Will government policies soon be ?"prospering" the economy, doctors "thriving" their patients, and teachers "flourishing" their students?

This process also works in reverse: Transitive verbs are sometimes used as intransitive verbs, that is, without direct objects. Sentences such as, "The magician amazes," "The weather surprises" and "The movie disappoints" baffle. Our ears wait for the other shoe — the direct object — to drop.

But should we strive to disappear these bizarre changes in parts of speech and functions?

Heck no.

Like baby birds moving from egg to nest to air, words continually change their forms and functions. Many verbs in common use today began as nouns: "battle," "silence," "position," "contact" and "oil," and many verbs became transitive/intransitive switch hitters.

These fledgling verbs may shudder us, but there's no need to shutter the windows of English against them.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.